Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Pursuant to the Standing Orders, I will move the following motion, which was made public within the prescribed time frame.
Given that:
(a) the Chiefs of Ontario, which represents 133 First Nations, have filed a judicial review in Federal Court on the Liberal government's carbon tax;
(b) the Chiefs of Ontario stated that the Liberal government “refused to negotiate with First Nations in Ontario to alleviate the discriminatory and anti-reconciliatory application of the Greenhouse Gas and Pollution Act on First Nations.”;
(c) the National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations has publicly expressed her willingness to support the Chiefs of Ontario's judicial review application against the Liberal government's carbon tax;
(d) the Chiefs of Ontario have noted that Indigenous communities would face greater challenges in switching to lower emitting technologies;
(e) Grand Chief Abram Benedict of the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne stated that “The government has boasted that Canadians will pay a carbon tax, but through the rebates, through the subsidies they will actually receive more than what they have paid. That doesn't ring true in First Nations communities”;
(f) Grand Chief Benedict stated that “This judicial review was completely avoidable if Canada only showed up to the table,” and stated that “I sincerely hope that Canada gets the message that reconciliation and collaboration are non-negotiable, and policy made about us without us is never acceptable. Show up and work with us so we can come up with solutions that make sense.”; and
(g) Canada's Environment Commissioner and Parliamentary Budget Officer acknowledge that the carbon tax disproportionately punishes Canadians who live in rural, remote, and northern regions.
The committee report to the House its disappointment in the Liberal government's failure to engage with First Nations on providing financial relief from the carbon tax; and pursuant to Standing Order 108(1)(a) the committee invite Grand Chief Abram Benedict and the Chiefs of Ontario to testify for no less than two hours by February 2, 2024, on their judicial review filing on the federal carbon tax.
No relationship is more important than the one the Canadian government and first nations must have. Who has said that, multiple times, over the last eight years? It was the current Liberal Prime Minister. This is not the first time that first nations and the federal authority have had differences of opinion. This is not the first time that first nations have gone to court to assert their rights and to be heard.
In my opinion, this case is unprecedented. It is unprecedented to see more than 100 first nations chiefs come together to talk about a situation that is contrary to the spirit that the current government is supposedly espousing.
I would like to remind you that, in his first important speech, on December 8, 2015, here in Ottawa, before the Assembly of First Nations Special Chiefs Assembly, the Prime Minister said:
It is time for a renewed, nation-to-nation relationship with First Nations Peoples. One that understands that the constitutionally guaranteed rights of First Nations in Canada are not an inconvenience but rather a sacred obligation.
I wasn't the one who said that; it was the current Prime Minister. I could go on for a long time, as everything the Prime Minister has said flies in the face of why first nations in Ontario are now taking legal action. It goes without saying, from our perspective, that when first nations have something to claim, we have to pay attention to it. In particular, when such a large group initiates legal action, it is our supreme duty to ensure that they get the attention they deserve.
After eight years of Liberal government and multiple unfulfilled commitments, it is time for accountability.